Thousand Hands Convoy
The Thousand Hands Convoy is a wandering society of sailors and philosophers, all of whom worship the Solar Adamant Fern. History The Convoy began as a few families of wanderers and outcasts from the Neck, sailing northeast in search of calmer waters. Instead, they found the Wyld... and a goddess. Some weeks into the journey, the lookout on one of the wanderers' ships cried the dread word -- "Pirates!" A veritable flotilla of smaller craft was approaching from the horizon, gaining fast, flying black scraps of cloth in lieu of flags. The refugees turned and fled before the pirates, only to realize that the fleet was moving purposefully to herd them toward a shallow bar of sand and rock. Lacking any choice now, they turned before the rock to stand and fight... and one of their masts promptly turned into a young beech tree. The elders realized they'd been herded into a Wyld zone, and were ready to abandon all hope when someone spotted a shimmering crystal tower on the bar. Out of this tower, as if in response to their cries, came a flaring apparition of sunlight. Adamant Fern sailed into the center of the conflict, demanding to know why they were shooting. She saw their desperation -- and, astonishingly, revealed that the pirates were little different. Both groups were outcast, seeking little more than survival. The Solar offered them survival and a home, if they would band together and serve her. They agreed, and she made good on her promise. Leading them into the near Wyld, she cast out her Essence in great streamers, forming from the chaos a marvelous island. This Sailing Stone she gave them for their home, on condition that they sail the tainted lands to anchor them to Creation. This they accepted, and this they faithfully do to the present day. People The average Hand stands 5'5" tall, with striking blue eyes and blond, gray, white, or blue hair. Most are wiry and whip-thin. Light frames predominate. Men and women are little different in height, and share equal status in all walks of life. Each family lives on its own ship, which it may use as it will -- the boat is the family home. Weddings and births, then, are involved affairs: the bride's and groom's boats must be beached on the Sailing Stone, disassembled, and rebuilt into a single ship to house them both. Symbolically and practically, this tradition suits the Hands very well. Politics The Hands are governed by a loose council of the heads of households, meeting on the Sailing Stone to discuss whatever important issues may come up. Fern's disciples Stance of Skies and Saffron Dolphin (when she's present) are treated with a certain deference, but their votes count the same as anyone's. The system is similar to that of the gyptians in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, with similar freedom for all involved, and similar sense of duty towards the clan when emergency arises. Religion The Hands worship Adamant Fern, usually under the title they gave her -- the Walker on Verges. This cult teaches the Solar's philosophy, which although abstruse in its technical details is straightforward enough as it's been presented to them. It teaches balance in all things, and the value of knowledge. When the Hands want or need guidance from Fern, they have only to wait until the full or new moon. At sunset on these days, Fern speaks to them through the graceful beech tree in the center of the Sailing Stone (the same tree, in fact, that was once a mast). When she made the island, she carved her face into this tree with a spell, enabling her to speak and perceive through the tree at any time. She and the Hands agreed that both would meet through the tree at those pre-arranged times; neither has yet broken the bargain, save in extreme circumstances. Fern considers herself almost as much the Hands' protector as the hands themselves do. When they ask something of her, she does her best to provide, if she thinks it will genuinely help them. This has meant aid as diverse as providing food in barren years, chasing off the Wyld beasts, and creating babies for unwillingly-childless couples. More recently, she's chased off the Brass Leviathan and effected truly miraculous cures... and she's got further plans. The Hands don't know what they're in for. Mechanical Notes Every normal adult in the Convoy has at least Sail 3, Athletics 2 and Awareness 2, Craft (Elemental) 1, and Survival 1. Those who do not are considered deficient in critical life skills: if someone cannot sail his ship, climb the rigging, spot pirates coming, make simple repairs, and keep his family alive should they be separated from the Convoy, he's a liability. One further dot each in Lore and Occult is a religious duty for heads of household; Fern is gradually working to make these skills more than just duty, and for more than just heads of household. Seatongue is their native language, but many know some Skytongue, Low Realm, and Old Realm. Their dialect in the latter is a little strange, since they learned it indirectly from Fern. Category:Sunlight on the Water Category:SotW NPCs Category:Adamant Fern